white



Mar. 6, 1923. 1,447,498. FJC. WHITE.

PLAYER PIANO.

FILED MA'Y 23,192x.

INVENTOR JW M ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 6, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK C. WHITE, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILCOX 82; WHITE 00., OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

PLAYER PIANO.

Application filed May 23, 1921. Serial No. 471,829.

17 0 aZZ whom tit may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK C. lVI-IITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Player Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention. relates to player pianos and in some of its details, more particularly to an improved extensible conduit for connecting pneumatic, actuating elements of a player piano with a source of pneumatic energy.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved extensible air conduit particularly adapted for use in connection with that type of player piano employing a sliding unit or drawer for carrying music rolls and player actions, which is of a simple and du rable construction, silent and efiicient in operation and not likely to develop leakage in use.

A further object is to provide an improved extensible air conduit for player pianos having relatively few parts, readily assembled or disassembled without employment of special tools and providing airtight joints when in assembled position.

Still further objects of the invention will be in part pointed out in connection with the following detailed description and in part obvious in connection therewith.

In the accompanying drawing wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

Figure l is a side elevation of a grand piano equipped with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation corresponding to Fig. 1 but having the roller drawer moved forwardly and the conduit extended;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view showing the pivotal connections in the extensible conduit and adjacent parts;

Fig. 4 is a similar front view, partly in section, of the pivotal connections.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, a piano of the grand type is shown having a main casing 1 and a key bed 2, and supported to slide adjacent the under side of which is a drawer or unit 3 carrying a tracker bar 4, music rolls 5, action pneumatics 6, expression mechanism etc. It will be observed that the pneumatics and other actuating elements referred to are mounted on the drawer 3 so as to move bodily therewith when the latter is moved from one position to another. Mounted on the piano frame independently of the drawer 3 is a source of pneumatic energy, such as an exhaust bellows shown diagrammatically at '7. Any desired operating means for the bellows may be supplied. For conducting energy between the exhaust bellows and the pneumatics and other actuating elements the extensible conduit is provided.

This conduit comprises a section 8 an ranged to communicate with the elements of the drawer and movable with the latter, and a stationary section 9 connected to the exhaust bellows. For permitting the drawer to move forwardly so as to enable a music roll to be removed, or placed in position with the music sheet cooperating with the tracker bar, a flexible connection is interposed between sections 8 and 9 of the conduit. This connection comprises a section 10 pivoted to sections 8 and 9 by swing joints shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 41. As shownbest in Fig. 41, each of these joints comprises two cooperative members, one of which 1 1 has an extended portion 12 which is adapted to be received within a recess 13 of the other member 14:. The two members are secured in telescoping relationship in the form shown by a U-spring 15 having recesses for engagement over the projecting lugs 16 and 17 on the members 11 and'lt, respectively. The swing joint connecting the section 10 to the section 8 is similar to the joint described. This construction provides an air-tight joint which is readily assembled or disassembled, the spring 15 expanding topermit separation of the parts whileholding them in closely cooperating relationship and preventing leaking or chattering of the parts when in assembled relationship.

The section 8 is yielding and includes a short link of flexible tubing 18 (see Fig. 3)

of rubber or similar material, preferably reinforced by a spiral spring 19, to permit the slight vertical motion of that end of the section 8 which is connected to the section 10 necessary in the swing of the section 10 between the positions illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

This construction provides a yielding or flexible extensible joint shown in retracted position in Fig. 1, and in extended position in Fig. 2. It will be seen that the section 10 is pivotally connected by the telescoping portions described to the sections 8 and 9, so as to be angularly movable in respect to these sections. A single extensible flexible connection between the exhaust bellows and the drawer is thus provided. Since it has been heretofore customary to employ a separate flexible tube for each key or other element controlled by the tracker bar extending between the drawer and the various actuating elements, which have heretofore been mounted independently of the drawer in fixed position on the piano frame, it will be seen that the present construction pro vides a much simplified means, being more reliable in use and less likely to get out of order.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a player piano, in combination, a bodily movable unit for supporting action pneumatics, pneumatic power apparatus mounted on the piano independently of said unit, and an extensible conduit between said unit and power apparatus having angularly movble sections providing an extensible joint.

2. In a player piano, in combination, a bodily movable tracker bar unit having action pneumatics mounted thereon and movable therewith, a source of pneumatic energy mounted on the piano independently of said unit, and a single conduit between said motors and said source of energy including pivotally connected sections.

3. A player piano having a bodily movable unit, action pneumatics mounted thereon and a source of pneumatic energy mounted on the piano independently of said unit, in combination with a conduit between said unit and said source of energy, said conduit having a section leading to said motors, a section leading to said source of energy, and an additional section pivoted to said first sections.

a. In a player piano, in combination, a slidable drawer carried by said piano and carrying action pneumatics, a source of pneumatic energy mounted on the piano independently of said drawer and an ex tensible conduit adapted to conduct energy between said motor and source having pivotally connected sections resiliently se cured in cooperative relationship.

5. In a player piano, in combination, an

extensible power conduit, including sections one of which is flexible, said sections having telescoping portions providing pivotal connec-tions therebetween, and resilient means connected to said telescopic portions and stressed to urge the same into cooperative 'elationship. 6. In a player piano, in combination, a bodily movable unit carrying action pneumatics, a source of pneumatic energy mounted on the piano independently of said unit and a conduit between said unit and said source of energy having a flexible section leading to said pneumatics, a rigid section leading to said source of energy and an additional section pivotally connected to said first sections.

7. In a player piano, in combination, a power conduit including separate sections, and a swing oint pivotally connecting said sections comprising cooperative members having telescoping portions and resilient means for retaining said members in cooperative relationship.

In testimony whereof I attiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRi'kNK C. WHITE.

/Vitnesses D. L. FrrsrA'rRIoK, T. B. SCI-IARMER. 

